A corpus-based genre analysis of letters of regularization : the case of land institutions in Ghana

Abstract

Genre studies have tended to focus on academic contexts, with little attention to professional settings. Against this backdrop, this study set out to conduct a corpus-based genre analysis of letters of regularization written to land institutions in Ghana. The study adopted a textual analysis, informed by the ESP approach to genres, and supplemented it with a corpus-based analysis to examine 40 letters of regularization. The analyses revealed that the most frequent move in the letters of regularization was the ‘Purpose of the letter’. Although the ‘Reason for the application’ move was not obligatory, it took much textual space in the letters. As regards lexicogrammatical features, politeness was embedded and expressed in ‘if clauses’ to mitigate direct impositions on the reader. Additionally, gratitude was mainly construed as a quality and as a process in the letters. Based on these findings, the study offers implications for further research and practice.